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The Stoic Case for Cutting People Some Slack
Worrying about other people’s behavior will only make you unhappy
One of many sad byproducts of the pandemic is that the nicer the weather, the more stressful the logistics of enjoying it. Taking a hike would be nice, wouldn’t it? Turns out, everyone else has the same idea, and, as we all know, “everyone else” is basically what we’ve been told to avoid. But, in this time of worry and irritation, some people seem to stand out more than others. In moments of weakness, it can feel impossible not to judge them.
One such moment occurred on a recent weekday afternoon when I was on a socially distanced walk with a friend. We’d timed our outing for before the end of the workday, hoping to miss the crowds, but no matter. Clusters of teens walked laterally across the sidewalk, maintaining enough distance from one another to make it impossible to keep one’s distance from them without walking directly into street traffic. There were the sheepish giant-stroller moms, clearly regretful of their unwieldy pre-pandemic baby registry choices. (Just because it’s the size of a Subaru doesn’t mean it’ll handle like one, and you would think stroller designers might have noticed this.) And, of course, there were the joggers. Many, many joggers.
